We make a little history
by smaragdbird
Summary: Raleigh follows Mako and Chuck when he overhears that Chuck wants to talk to her. What he finds out is not what he expected. (Mako/Chuck)


Raleigh was on his way from the mess when he heard Chuck's voice. "I need to talk to you."

And then to his surprise Mako answered: "Not here."

He peeked around the corner to see them standing together. Mako wrapped her hand around Chuck's wrist and led him further down the corridor. Scowling, Raleigh decided to follow them. If Chuck was going to give Mako more shit about the failed drift he was going to end the fight they had started earlier. Part of him knew of course that Mako was more than capable to deal with Chuck and probably better than Raleigh did, considering that she had known him for a lot longer but he still felt protective towards her. She was his co-pilot, his friend and whatever Chuck had to say to her he could damn well say it to Raleigh as well. It had been his fault more than hers that the drift had failed. After all he was an experienced pilot and she had never drifted before.

"I'm sorry." Of all the things Raleigh had expected Chuck to say this hadn't been among them. He hadn't thought Chuck was capable of apologising. So instead of walking in on them he stayed in the shadows and watched the scene unfold. If chuck was truly apologising for his behaviour towards Mako Raleigh certainly wouldn't interrupt him.

"I didn't think. You deserve to be a pilot but I guess I always thought you would be my co-pilot one day like we said when we were kids. I don't want to lose you to him. Inside the drift…he'll see everything. You know now what it's like. Do you really want to give him that?"

To his surprise Mako laid her hand against Chuck's cheek. "He's a better man than you give him credit for."

"What, no 'It'll be fine', no 'That won't happen'?" Chuck laughed mockingly.

Mako gave him a look. "You know it's not that easy. But I won't leave you."

"Guess that'll have to be enough." Chuck tilted his head and kissed her palm. Raleigh barely kept his gasp to himself.

She wound her free hand around his neck and pulled him down so she could kiss him properly.

Raleigh still stared at them even though he knew he shouldn't. This was obviously a private moment but…Mako and Chuck. When had that happened? Inside the drift he had been so distracted by Mako's memory of Tokyo's that he couldn't remember even having seen Chuck in the stream.

But here they were, foreheads resting against each other and speaking so softly Raleigh could no longer understand them.

"I love you", Chuck said, caressing her face. "You're the best that happened to me and I don't want to lose you."

Raleigh could see Mako's face lighting up like the sun. "Aishiteru", she said and kissed Chuck again.

He really needed to go but his goddamn curiosity kept him rooted to the spot. Mako and Chuck being so open and vulnerable was so unlike how he knew them.

"I'll try to be nicer to him, okay? But only because he's your drift partner."

"Just don't start anymore fights. I don't like seeing you hurt."

Suddenly Chuck wrapped his arms around her and pressed her to his chest, burying his face in her hair. "Lie to me. Tell me everything will be fine. That we'll win. And we'll live happily ever after." His voice broke over the last few words. "Just lie."

"We'll win", Mako said quietly. "The world will heal. We'll live in a house by the sea. Max will chase gulls through the surf and our children build castles in the sand."

"Kids, huh?" Chuck chuckled and it sounded both brave and broken. "Guess you've been talking to my dad."

"No, I've been talking to mine." Mako tilted her head up and cupped Chuck's face with her hands. "We'll do all sorts of impossible things once the war over. That is not a lie."

The kiss that followed was so sweet that Raleigh finally managed to tear himself away. They said there were no secrets in the Drift but witnessing something like this firsthand and seeing it in the Drift were still completely different things. He just would have never thought that Chuck Hansen who so far had acted like a total asshole would be the kind of man Mako would fall in love with.

While he was walking away as quietly and quickly as possible Raleigh had to admit that Chuck had a point. In the Drift Raleigh would learn more about Mako than Chuck ever could, he would know secrets that she would never tell anyone.

At the same time he wondered why they were keeping it quiet. Herc had to know but maybe they hadn't told Pentecost yet? Raleigh somehow doubted that the Marshall would be thrilled if he knew that Mako was going out with Chuck.

Which led him back to the question why she was doing it. Going by what he had just seen Chuck seemed to genuinely love her but he was still a competitive, high-horsed jerk with daddy issues a mile wide.

He was not surprised when Mako and Chuck both sat down on his table. Chuck narrowed his eyes at him when Raleigh smiled at Mako and he felt animosity flaring up again. Was Mako so blindly in love that she couldn't see who Chuck really was?

But then Chuck said, "The Marshall put in another test run for Gipsy tomorrow. Don't drop out of the fucking drift again, Rahleigh."

Raleigh could recognise a peace offering when it was made and in Chuck's case it was almost a bonfire in his honour.

"I'll do my best", he said.

"I know you will", Mako replied with a smile but he knew that under the table she was squeezing Chuck's hand. The small curl in the corner of her lips told him so.

Raleigh supposed that if Chuck could make an effort so could he and with a bit of luck they might all walk out of this alive. Even if he didn't think that Chuck deserved a house by the sea, Mako definitely did and Raleigh was going to do his best to give it to her.


End file.
